Chapter 9

The next morning.

Sylvia and I met up and had breakfast together on the first floor.

"Alright, let's decide on our strategy from now on."

When I said that, Sylvia gave me a somewhat suspicious look.

"About last night, I was pretty drunk, so I don't remember the details... but do you really know how to become stronger, Lord Second?"

Her expression was one of wanting to believe but not quite able to.

"Don't worry. Oh, before that, can you tell me about your skills and stats, roughly?"

"Hmm... I guess I have no choice."

After a moment's hesitation, Sylvia spoke.

"I haven't really focused on anything other than horse riding and swordsmanship. I can handle Infantry, Lance, Knight, and Silver, all at level 2, and my horse riding is at level 11."

"I see. What about your stats?"

"...DEX is 121, INT is 103, and everything else is in the double digits."

"Ah, by the way, what about STR, AGI, and LUK?"

"STR is 79, AGI is 98, and LUK is 15."

"Got it."

Just as I thought. She's a DEX type. And for some reason, her INT is also high. This is definitely... yes, the 'Magical Archer' type.

"Alright, we have a plan. Sylvia, let's start with archery."

"Archery? My DEX is decent, but I've never handled a bow before, and besides... it's not very knightly."

This girl is still complaining.

"You're probably specialized in magic and archery. You'll be a Magical Archer eventually."

"I've never even heard of a Magical Archer."

Huh, is it not in this world? In Mevion, it was a pretty popular class.

"Combining magic and archery skills, you don't know about that?"

"...No, I don't."

Oh no.

"Anyway, such a thing exists. You should aim for it."

She doesn't seem very convinced, but she reluctantly nods, saying, "Alright, I understand."

With that decided, we have a lot to do.

"Here's the plan for today. First, we'll buy weapons. Then, we'll learn skills. In the evening, we'll start grinding for experience. Any objections?"

"Wait, I don't have much money. I can't rely on my family either..."

"Don't worry about money. I have more than enough."

"......Just to be sure, how much do you have?"

"I had 2 billion CL a week ago, but now it's around 800 million CL."

"..."

Sylvia's jaw dropped so wide it almost hit her chest.

...That's strange. 2 billion CL, you can earn that easily by going to a dungeon.

Oh, right, the dungeons in this world haven't been fully cleared yet. So, there are no crazy people who go through them repeatedly. If that's the case, items from dungeons are even more valuable, right? Meaning, there's a lot of money to be made...

"Anyway, let's go."

I gave up thinking and led Sylvia to the weapon shop.

"Welcome back!"

The cheerful voice of the weapon shop owner echoed.

This time, we bought a longbow for Sylvia and a longsword for me.

Seeing this, Sylvia said, "Thank you," and then asked,

"Lord Second, aren't you an archer?"

"I'm starting swordsmanship today."

"..."

Sylvia seemed at a loss for words.

"After learning the basics of archery from the library, you'll help me learn the essential sword skills while you learn the essential archery skills."

"Huh? Oh. Huh?"

Sylvia was confused.

It felt like I was teaching a beginner the basics of Mevion.

"Whatever... just follow me."

Feeling annoyed, I said this, and Sylvia blushed and nodded, "Alright." She looked quite cute.

Beautiful people really have it easy, I thought.

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What!?"

Midday.

In the forest between the capital and the mine, Sylvia turned into a "stuttering alien."

"How do you know about that!? How can you tell me so casually!? Who are you!?"

She confronted me fiercely.

"Why are you so angry?"

"I'm not angry! I'm just flabbergasted!"

Well, then don't yell at me.

"Skills like Horned Archer and Rook Archer! They are top-secret, passed down through generations of nobles!"

Ah, I see. That's why the level in this world is so low.

"Nobles really like their privileges, huh?"

"Of course, you fool! If the nobles find out about this, I'll be tortured and killed!"

Sylvia was angry for my sake. She's a good person.

However, to take the shortcut to becoming the best, I need Sylvia to learn archery and support me from the back. If she can't use Horned Archer and Rook Archer, it would be pointless to have her as a companion.

"Then, just keep this information to yourself. Is that okay?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you fool! If I use such advanced archery skills, it will be obvious! You fool! You fool!"

Does she like calling me a fool?

"Then, just don't use them in public."

"Ugh... I guess so."

Oh, she's convinced?

"...But it's still dangerous. They could find out from anywhere. Besides, you already stand out... and there's a possibility they're already watching you..."

She started mumbling.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you if anything happens. Just follow me."

I tried the pick-up line that worked earlier. It probably won't work a second time, right?

"......O-Okay."

It seemed to work.

After that.

While dealing with the noisy Sylvia, I had her learn Horned Archer, Rook Archer, Knight Archer, and Silver Archer. Just like me, she picked them up easily.

Additionally, I learned Knight Swordsmanship, Silver Swordsmanship, and Gold Swordsmanship. They are "Precision Attack," "Powerful Single Target Attack," and "Area Attack in All Directions," respectively. I'll leave Horned Swordsmanship and Rook Swordsmanship for later as they are too troublesome. I also plan to learn Dragon King Swordsmanship, but it's incredibly troublesome, so I'll think about it after everything else is done.

When I told Sylvia this, she was so surprised that she started to look confused.

When I asked her why she was so confused, she said, "I've never heard of anyone who knows the skill acquisition conditions in such detail."

Well, in a world like this, it's not strange to have scholars who study skills and their acquisition conditions, right?

In response to my question, Sylvia said, "Even if you can narrow down the acquisition conditions, what benefit is there in making them public?"

...You're right. In the real world, people who give up their privileges are rare.

"But I feel like I've been surprised for a lifetime today."

As the sun began to set, Sylvia said this.

"There's one more surprise for you."

I said this mischievously and gave Sylvia a large number of potions.

"Wh-Wh-Why do you have so many expensive potions!?"

When I was buying a large number of potions at the potion shop, she didn't seem surprised. It's because I was chatting so casually with the shopkeeper that she didn't realize it was a multi-million CL transaction.

"It's too early to be surprised. How do you think we'll use these?"

"Wait, I'm getting scared. You're not going to make me put all of these in my butt, are you?"

"No way. What do you think I am?"

"A pervert."

"Don't say that so quickly!"

What a rude person. I'm going to help you gain a lot of experience...

"Whatever. Let's go."

We headed to the large cave behind the mine.

Needless to say, the loudest "Wh-Wh-Wh-What!?" of the day echoed through the cave.

Thank you for reading.